Okay guys, Christmas time is my favorite time of the year because of candied nuts. The mall always smells like what I imagine heaven smells like, and candied nuts are the reason for the season! And they are one of the best thing about BYU football games. Unfortunately, eating candied nuts has become a challenge for me. My jaw always kills me after eating a handful or two. So that, and the fact that my sister had a giant bag of sliced almonds inspired me to make these.

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a KitchenAid. Using a the whisk attachment, on medium speed, beat the heck out of the ingredients until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and beans, and stir to combine.

Okay guys, I am secretly a #basicwhitegirl, and I was CRAVING pumpkin anything somethin' fierce. So when I signed up to bring a dessert to my ward's linger longer, I knew that pumpkin was going to be the star of the show. But I also needed to add a new recipe to the blog, so I decided to top my Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake with this delectable Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting. Equal parts butter, cream cheese, with homemade vanilla extract and the seeds from a vanilla bean? I dare say that nothing in this world could be a better combination. I LOVED seeing the little flecks of black from the vanilla bean seeds, and it was big on vanilla flavor thanks to my new found love for making homemade vanilla.

Welcome

I'm Erica Ellen, and sometimes I eat things other than Poptarts & Dr Pepper. My baking/cooking style can be summed up by Julia Child, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."